Washing machine



A118. 1944- R. c. MCPHILOMY I 2,355,455 I WASHING MACHINE Filed May 23, 1941 I .I nventor:

Richard C. Mc zilomg, b5 WW 5? j 1. v

I His Attorney.

quired for. the

Patented Aug. 8, 1944 2,355,455 v WASHING mcnmr. Mclhilomy, Schenectady, N. Y., as-

Richard 0.

signer to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application May 23, 1941, Serial No. 394,901

(c1. ea 12) comm.

The present invention relates to the control of the liquid supply for automatic. washing machines.

The problem of automatically controlling the" supply of liquid to automatic washing machines is complicated by the fact that either or both the power and liquid supply may fail for a period of time relatively long compared Fto the time reautornatic cycle of operation of the machine and that theoperator maynot be present "to notice such failure. It is therefore possible that upon failure of the water supply pressure the automatic washing operations may be carried out with insufllcient water. It is also possible that upon failure of the power supply, the water supply may be left turned on and the machine filled to overflowing.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved control of the liquid supply for automatic washing machines which willnot be af-} fected by failure of the power or liquid supply. For a consideration of what I believe novel and by my invention, attention is directed to the folto the bottom of the outer casing and having its outlet connectedto a conduit I2 discharging into the top of the receptacle. The circulating pump preferably runs throughout the washingoperation so as to maintain the proper liquid level in the receptacle. The clutch I0 also serves to drive a drain pump l3 having its inlet connected through a conduit I4 to the bottom of the outer casing and having its outlet connected to a conduit l5 leading to a drain. Since a single clutch is used to control both the drain pumps, simultaneous operation of the pumps is chine. speed of onerevolution per hour. Since most of these operations are not pertinent to the present inlowing description and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l'is a diagrammatic view showing'my control. applied to an automatic washing machine; Fig. 2 is an exploded view of some 'of the control cams; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a modification.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown'my invention applied to chine of the type'shown in application Serial No.

391,113, filed April 30, 1941, towhich referencemay be made for further details of construction. It comprises an' outer casing I in the upper part of which is located a rotatable clothes receptacle 2 within which is supported an oscillatory agitator 3. Below the outer casing is a gear casing 4 containing suitable mechanism driven by a motor I for selectively oscillating and rotating a shaft I extending up from the bottom of the outer casing through a nism associated with the shaft 6 the agitator is either oscillated to wash the clothes within the receptacle or the receptacle is rotated at a high speed to centrifugallydry the clothes.

During washing, liquid overflows from the re-.

ceptacle 2 to the outer casing I through openings I in the upper part of the receptacle. These openings serve as centrifugal discharge openings during centrifugal drying. The overflowin .liquid is returned to the receptacle by a circulating pump I driven by the motor 5 through a clutch II and having its inlet connected by a conduit ll moves the plunger an automatic washing masleeve 1. By suitable mechahaving one end "cooperating when the block 2. falls '30.

impossible.

The machine is controlled by a timing shaft-II driven from the motor I throughreduction gearing ll and having keyed thereon a stack of cams forcontrolling the desired operations of the ma- The timing shaft may turn at any desired In the present machine it turns at a speed vention, only three of the cams are illustrated, a cam II for controlling the power supply, a cam l9 controlling the'water supply, and a cam 20 I controlling the pumps.

The. switch comprises spring. contact arms 22 carried on asupporting 'arm 23 pivoted at 24 on a bracket 25,. The arm 23 is biased by a spring 28 against a stop 21 on the bracket 25, in which position a block 28 1 of insulating material secured to one of the spring contact arms cooperates with the cam is.

projecting sections 29 of the cam and are opened in one of the'depressions The water supply cam l9 controls a valve Il connected in a water supply conduit .32. The

valve has an operating plunger 22, spring biased which cooperoutwardly to the closed position, ates with the intermediate portion of a lever 34 The other end of the lever 34 has a slot 3 6 ,through which extends a pivot pin 81 on a bracket 38. A latch 39, pivoted at 40 on the.

bracket 28, is biased into engagement with a seat II on the lever 2 by So long as the latch 3| engages the seat 41, the

' lever 34 is in efiectpivoted on the latch. When the end "of the lever projections 42 of the lever 34 is pivoted in 34 rides up on one of the water supply cam IS, the

II inward opening the valve and circulating I The switch contactsare held closed so long as the block 28 bears on the with' the cam a compression spring 42. y

a clockwise direction andtially fill the receptacle.

3|. This movement of the lever 34 opens the switch 2| through a. lever 44 pivoted at 45 on the bracket 25 and having one end engaging the switch supporting arm 23 and the other end engaging a set screw 46 in the end of an arm 41 fixed to the lever 34. Through the parts 44 and 41, the downward movement of the lever 34 caused by the opening of the valve 3| pivots the switch supporting arm 23 in a clockwise direction, moving the block 23 clear of the switch cam l3 and permitting separation of the switch contacts. This opens the power supply to the motor 3 and accordingly stops the cams which are driven by the motor. Since the cams are stopped, the supplying of water is independent of the power supply.

U-pon opening the valve 3 water flows through the valve to a conduit 43 connected to a water softener 43 and from the water softener through conduits 53 and 5| to the receptacle 2. when the receptacle is full, it overflows through openings 3, and the overflow is caught in the bottom of the outer casing For satisfactory operation of the circulating pump 3, there should be a small amount of water in the bottom of the outer casing. This amount is sufllcient to raisea float 32 connected by a, link 33 to one arm of a bell crank lever 54 pivoted at 33. The other arm of T the bell crank lever is. connected by a link 33 to the lower end of the latch 33. The raising of the float acts through the bell crank lever and associated linkage to move the latch 33 clear of the lever 34. The valve 3| is then closed by its spring bias, the plunger 33 moving outward. The upward movement of the lever 34, upon trippingof the latch 33, raises thearm 41 and permits closure of the switch 2| to start the cams. The lever 34 is held in engagement with the plunger by a relatively weak biasing spring 51.

more water than necessary would have been supplied, but the water would be shut off before the machine overflowed. If the water supply failed, less water would be supplied than desirable for the flush rinse. This is not serious since the cycle of operation of the machine includes other rinsing operations. 3

The -pump'control cam 23 controls the drain and circulating pumps through a lever 33 pivoted at 3| and having one end connected to the clutch and the other end cooperating with the pump control cam. The lever is held in engagement with the cam by a tension spring 32. when the lever cooperates with projections 33, the clutch I3 is moved into engagement with the circulating pump 3. when the lever is in depressions 34, the clutch is moved into engagement with the drain pump |3. Cam sections 33 are the neutral positions in which neither the drain nor the circulating \pumps are running.

The pump control cam has a deeper depression 33 which is used to control the regeneration or reconditioning of the water softener 43. when the lever 33 falls into the depression 33, the clutch I3 is moved still further to the left, this movement being permitted by a spring 31. The drain pump accordingly continues in operation. The watersoftener is regenerated by supplying a small amount of salt water which is obtained from a salt box 33 having its inlet connected to the water supply line 32 through a valve 33 and conduits 13 and 1|. The outlet from the salt box is connected by a conduit 12 to a r-fltting 13 in When the end 33 of the lever 34 moves into one of the depressions 53 in the cam l3, the seat 4| of the lever 34 is moved by the spring 31 into engagement with the latch 33, resetting the latch. As

explained in detail in the aforesaid application Serial No. 391,113, the washing operation takes place while the lever 33 rests on projections 43 and centrifugal drying takes place while the lever rests in depressions 53.

, The foregoing arrangement for automatically supplying water to the machine is independent of failure of either the power or the water sup-- ply. It is independent of the power supply since the timer drive for the automatic control cams is interrupted at the initiation of the automatic supplying of waterto the machine. It isindependent of the water supply since the closing of the valve is dependent upon the amount of water supplied to the machine rather than upon the length of time required to supply the water.

Under some conditions it is desirable to supply a small amount of water to the machine, for example, for flushing soapy water from the clothes as a preliminary to rinsing. In the present machine this is provided for by a projection 53 on the water supply cam which cooperates the conduit 43. It is undesirable that the salt water flowing through the water softener be conducted to the'receptacle 2. There is accordingly provided an alternative passage for this salt water which comprises a conduit 14 connected to the outlet conduit 33 of the water softener, a valve 13, and a conduit 13 connected to the drain conduit l4. The valves 33 and 13 are spring biased to the closed position and are controlled by a common plunger 11 having a plate 13 cooperating with the respective valve plunger; 13

45 and 33. Whenever the plunger 11 is depressed,

with the lever 34 to hold the valve 3| open for a short time. ceptacle during this time the valves 33 and 15 are opened. This permits water to flow from the water supply line to the salt box and from the water softener to the drain pump. The conduit 3| leading to the receptacle is open, but, since it, extends into the upper part of the outer casing, no water will flow through this conduit. The depression of the plunger 11 is controlled by a leverv 3| pivoted-at 43 on the bracket 33 and having a pin or slot connection 32 with the pump control lever 33. The lever 3| cooperates with the plunger 11 through a lever 33 pivoted at 34 on the lever 3| and held in the position illustrated by a latch 33 pivoted at 33 on the bracket 33. Under normal conditions the latch 35 is held against the lever 33 by a spring 31. If the power supply should fail while the water softener is being regenerated, the salt water would flow from the water softener through the conduit l4 -to the bottom of the outer casing and, when sufllcient water had accumulated to raise the float 32, the latch 33 would be pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction about the pivot pin 43, as described above. Under this condition a pin 33 on the latch 33 engages the latch 33 and moves the latch clear of the lever 33. The lever 33 is no longer effective to hold the valves 33 and 13 open, and these valves are accordingly closed under their spring bias. The

, the power supply,

ment of the lever 83 relative to the lever 8|. Upon failure of the power supply during regeneration of the water softener, the machine is accordingly protected from flooding since after the failure of water necessary to raise' the float 52 can flow through the water softener. The failure of the water supply during regeneration of the water softener will result in the supplying of an insufllcient amount of water for complete regeneration. This,'however, is not serious since it is intended that the water softener be regenerated after each use of the machine and the operation of the softener is not adversely affected on occasional incomplete regeneration.

of the power supply only the amount After the latch 85 is tripped due to failure of the latch is reset upon movement of the pump control lever BI onto one of the .projections 63. this position the lever 83 is held by a tension spring ll against a stop", in which position the latch is movedinto latching engagement with the lever II by the spring 81.

The modification shownin Fig. 3 differs from the previously describedconstruction in that the drive to the timing shaft I 8 is interrupted mechanically rather than electrically during the automatic filling of the washing machine. In this construction the switch ii is supported on a fixed arm 9| supported on the bracket 25. The timing shaft I6 is driven from the reduction 8. In a washing machine, a water softener, a I

salt box, a water supply conduit leading through the salt box and the water softener tothe Inachine, means responsive to the water level in the machine for shutting oil said water supply con duit, power-operated means for draining water from the machine, and a control for opening said water supply conduit and causing operation of said draining means.

4. In an automatic washing machine, acontrol for a sequence of operations including the supcontrol, a member movable to a position starting the supply of water to the machine andstopping the timer drive and biased away from saidposition, said member being movable to said' position by said control, provisions for releasably I hol'dingsaid member in said position including gearing I! through a clutch 8! controlled by a shifting lever 93 pivoted at 84 and biased to the clutch engaging position by a spring 95. The

shifting lever 93 is? connected by a link ll to a bell crank lever 91 pivoted at "on the bracket 25. Upon downward movement of the arm 41 which accompanies the movement of the'lever 34 to the position opening the valve 3|, the set screw 48 at the lower end of the arm "exerts a force on the bell crank lever 91 turning it in a counter-clockwise direction, moving the clutch 92 to the disengaged position and stopping or interrupting the timing shaft I I. Upon closure of the valve 3|, the arm I! is raised and the clutch 82 is returned to the engaged position by the spring 95. In other respects the operation of the modification is-the same as thepreviously described construction.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a washing machine of the type having a casing and a rotatable receptacle for receiving clothes to be washed and centrifugally dried, said receptacle being constructed to hold liquid during washing and to overflow to the casing, a water softener, a salt box, a water supply conduit leading through" the water softener to the receptacle, an alternative water supply conduit leading through the salt box and the water,

softener to the casing, means responsive to the water level in the casing for shutting 01! said water supply conduits, a pump ,for withdrawing water from the casing, and a control for selectively opening the water supply conduits. said during washing and to oxerflow to the casing, a

water softener, a salt box, a water supply conduit leading through the water softener to the receptacle, an alternative water supply conduit 76 a tripping mechanism effective upon actuation to release said member, and means responsiveto the liquidlevel in the machine for'actuating said t pping mechanism. a

5. A washing machine for performing a se- 1 quence of operations including the supply of water to the machine, a water softener for conditioning water supplied to the machine, a regenerative circuit for the water softener including a salt box and provisions for conducting water through the salt box and water softener to the machine and for draining the machine, a control movable to a position causingthe flow of water through said regenerative circuit and operation of the drain for the machine, said control being biased from said position,- provisions for releasably holding said control in said position including tripping means effective uponactuation to release said control,jand means responsive to the liquid level in the machine for actuating said tripping means whereby flooding 7 control causing the pump to run upon openingcontrol means sition starting of the machine is prevented upon failure of the provisions for draining the machine.

6. In an automatic washing machine, a casing,- a receptacle therein for holding water and clothes to be washed, said receptacle discharging to the casing, a water softener, a supply circuit for the receptacle leading through the water softener, a regenerating circuit leading through the water softener to the casing, means for selectively pumping water from the casing to the receptacle and to a drain, a sequential control for the machine, a timer drive for the control,

movable by said control to a pothe flowof water through the supply circuit and causing the pumping of water from the casing to the receptacle and the interruption of the timer drive, control means movable by the control to a position starting the flow of water through the regenerating circuit and causing the pumping of water from the casing to a drain. provisions for releasably holding said control means insaid positions, and means responsive to the liquid level in the casing for actuating said holding means to release said control means.

7. In an automatic washing machine, a casing, receptacle therein for holding water and machine, a timer drive for said 4 clothes to be washed. said receptacle discharging to the casing, a water softener, a water supply tener to the casing, means tor selectively pumping water from the casing to the receptacle and to a drain, control means for starting the now of water through said supply circuit and causing the pumping of water from the ca ing to the receptacle, control means (or starting the flow of water through the regenerating circuit and causing the pumping of water from the casing to a drain, and means responsive to a predetermined amount of water in the casing for stopping the flow through said regenerative and supply circuits.

8. In an automatic washing machine of. the type having a casing, a rotatable receptacle for receiving clothes to be washed and centrifugally dried, said receptacle being constructed to hold liquid to a predetermined level during washing and to overflowrto the casing, and meana'ior pumping liquid from the casing to the receptacle, a control for a sequence of operations including the supp y of Water to the machine, a timer drive for said control, said control in the water supplying position starting the supply of the timer drive.

9. In an automatic washing machine of the i type having a casing, a rotatable receptacle for receiving clothes to be washed and centriiugally dried. said receptacle being constructed to hold liquid to a predetermined level during washing and to overflow to the casing, and means ior pumping liquid from the casing to the receptacle, mechanism for eilecting washing and for rotating the receptacle for centrifugal dryin and a motor for driving the mechanism, a control for a sequence of washing and drying operations includingthe supply of water to the machine, said control in the water supplying position having means starting the supply of water to the machine and interrupting the circuit to said motor and causing the pumping of liquid from the easing to the receptacle, and means responsive to a predetermined accumulation oiliquid in the casing for stopping the water supply and establishing the circuit to said motor.

RICHARD c. MCPHILOMY. 

